By 5:30 p.m., 1,023 individual tickets had been sold at the office, online or by phone for opening night and 23 other games in the season. Season ticketholders bout another 244 in an exclusive sale Thursday.

The first home game Dec. 23 sold out almost immediately, though some remain available for those who opt to buy season tickets.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Dana Knops, director of ticket sales, said, adding that it was hard to know what to expect. "This is all new to us."

Knops said the first people arrived at 8:30 a.m. and by 10 a.m. there were about 40 in line. Staff passed out bottles of water to keep waiting fans happy.

Angela Henderson of Santa Cruz came in at noon to buy two seats on the floor for an upcoming game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Co-workers at her accounting firm in Seabright pooled their money to buy the seats for their boss, but she planned to get her own soon, too.

"I'm excited -- I have two boys, we're going to go," she said.

Work continues on the 30,000-square-foot temporary arena constructed in just three months on top of a parking lot at 140 Front St. The Development League team affiliated with the Oakland-based Golden State Warriors, will play its first home game at 5 p.m. Dec. 23 against the Bakersfield Jam -- an event that will test plans laid by the city and team for traffic, parking and fan management.

Inside the lobby of the team's management office across from the Metro station, fans checked out T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps and jackets bearing the team's blue-and-gold logo. Others looked at large print-outs of the 2,450-seat arena's floor plan, evaluating where to sit.

Tickets start at $15 for the bleachers with no seat-back, and go up to $23, $30 and $35 as the seats get closer to the floor. Seats on the floor cost $140.